


You Can Have It

by TheGlassScientist



Category: Septiplier - Fandom, Youtubers, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Body Worship, Bookstore AU, College AU, Denial, Friends to Lovers, Gay, Longing, M/M, Mark is an awkward gay bean, Markiplier - Freeform, Sean is a flirtatious gay bean, Septiplier - Freeform, Septiplier AWAY!, Sorry Not Sorry, They're both just hella gay, jacksepticeye - Freeform, kind of slow burn, leave me alone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-12 12:04:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9070843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGlassScientist/pseuds/TheGlassScientist
Summary: When a bubbly, green haired man makes his awkward and cringe worthy debut into his life, Mark Fischbach doesn't expect much to come from their peculiar friendship. Just two college attending dudes being bros, right? But after several late night calls regarding a book, and multiple invitations to holiday events between the two, Mark is starting to have a hard time denying the fact that Sean, or Jack as he likes to be called, hasn't been acting the same. And it's making Mark's heart thump like crazy and his brain go blank. And he kind of likes it.





	1. It's Not Manga, So Take It

**Author's Note:**

> Whooooo boi this is my first fic on here and I'm nervous XD  
> I saw the prompt for this au somewhere and really liked it so here's some septiplier trash.  
> The story is a little rough at the start, but as I get more comfortable writing, it will get better.

Rain gently poured from the grayed sky and pitter pattered on the ground below, and he regretted not bringing a jacket into the city with him.  
"Mark, there are some clouds comin' from up north, you might want a hoodie or somethin'," his subconscious had told him. Though when he was preparing to leave, the sun was out and as bright as ever. But Mark hadn't taken into account that it was mid September and weather like this was to be expected. He hurried along the sidewalk in blue jeans and a gray t-shirt, avoiding other individuals on a mission to complete their daily tasks and get out of this now heavily falling rain. He shoved a hand into his pocket after brushing a soaked strand of dyed bright red hair from his eyes, but to no avail as rebels continued to fall from atop his head and plaster themselves to his forehead. He just gave up. In his other hand, he carried a plastic bag with packets of dog treats and a new toy inside for his 'precious little girl', Chica. Now that he had what he'd gone out to buy, Mark just wanted to go home and take a warm bath or binge something on Netflix for the evening.  
A sudden gust of chilled wind swept through the street and went straight through Mark's bones, causing him to shudder and pull his arms in tighter as the sky grew darker. He quickly slammed his hand onto the cross walk button thing, ('what are those even called?' he asked himself,) then jogged to the other side of the street when he grew impatient and he was sure no cars would turn him into a pancake. Thunder rolled in the distance as he shook his head, almost like a dog, to relieve his hair of some of the rain that was starting to trickle down the back of his neck and make him shiver. He lifted his head to see how far it was until he'd be momentarily out of the rain before he could muster up the energy to run the rest of the way home, when he caught a whiff of apples and coffee.  
Mark's eyes landed on a lit-up sign reading "The Nook - Book Store and Café". On the sidewalk, near the entrance to the store, a stand up chalkboard had been put up, obviously when the sun was still out, as the drawing of a steaming cup of coffee and an open book was beginning to bleed downward on the board. The presumably catchy slogan had already faded away completely.  
Mark took a quick look around and located a clock inside a nearby store. "Only 4:27..." He muttered to himself before scurrying toward the door of the book store.  
As he tugged it open, a small bell gave a light, high pitched jingle and closed behind him with a soft thud once he was inside. He ran a hand through his hair, the water aiding in slicking it back weakly, then he wiped his hand on his jeans as he felt the heat slowly return to his body; his skin tingled and it hurt just a bit, but he sighed with a small smile at the warmth of the establishment. He turned his head to look at the menu above the café counter and started to make his way toward it.  
The store wasn't too busy, but it wasn't too quiet either. Simple conversation hummed about the tables in the café and between the aisles of the bookshelves, and soft music played from speakers in the ceiling. The girl working behind the café counter was sweet and polite, making small talk with Mark as he ordered a seasonal coffee without any shame. The girl, Cari as her name tag said, told Mark his drink would take just a few minutes. He decided he'd go walk around the store a bit, maybe find a present for someone while he waited. Christmas might be about two months away, but you can never start too early.  
He strolled casually and a bit stiffly through the bookstore, his hands still slightly cold. His eyes scanned over the different titles and book covers, and he clicked his tongue softly as he came to the end of the first bookshelf, then moved onto the next. The male stopped in his movements when he caught sight of a piece of paper taped to a table full of books to his left that read "SALE". He smiled to himself and continued perusing the store's collection. 'Perfect timing then...'  
While Mark didn't find any books for Christmas gifts, he did find a little candle in a tin box he thought his mom would like the smell of. Maybe he'd come back later and keep looking, but he couldn't take too much time up here; he still had Chica expecting him back at home. As he turned to head back to the café counter and wait for his drink there, a thought stopped him, or more of a memory really. He recalled Wade, or maybe it was Bob, recommending a book to him. They had figured if Mark enjoyed mystery video games, maybe he'd enjoy a mystery-like, Sherlock Holmes-esque book as well.  
Mark considered his 'over the next few months' schedule, and concluded that he'd have time to read a book without it interfering with work or upcoming family gatherings like Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas. He could spare a few more minutes, surely. Mark returned to the bookshelves, searching and scanning every title and author's name he could see with complete focus, trying to remember the book that had been suggested to him. He made his way through maybe 3 or 4 aisles of books before he saw cover art on a book just a little ways away from him, and it clicked. 'Aha, there it is...' He thought to himself, remembering the picture of the book he'd been shown in case he ever wanted to buy it (his friends are quite thorough).  
Another person stepped into the aisle with a small stack of books in their hands and Mark was quick to get to the book so he wouldn't be in their way as they shuffled through the aisle. But right as he reached for it, his hand collided with another in a sort of half clasp or joining of fingers. He quickly turned his head to see a male before him.  
Bright green hair was the first thing he was met with. It was under a dark green knit cap with a little white puff ball at the end, and Mark noticed the sides of the other male's head actually had dark brown hair, rather than the green he assumed it was all dyed.  
It was only when Mark saw the other man's face growing a darker and darker shade of pink that he realized he'd been staring and hadn't said anything at all. He felt his own cheeks heat up slightly, pulling his hand away and chuckling nervously.  
"Jeez, sorry. I didn't even see your hand there and then I just kinda... Yeah, sorry," he muttered apologetically as the shorter male quickly put his hand back under the small about-to-slip collection of books he was holding.  
"Oh, no no, its not a problem," the other man said.  
It took every bit of self-control Mark had inside of him to not blurt out his excitement and amazement at what he had just heard come out of the man's mouth. Not the words, no no but how he said them. "Wha- woah, you're Irish...!?" Mark stated more than asked.  
The green haired male gave a low giggle (that's right a giggle) and nodded. "Correct, I am. Just moved here."  
"No way, really? How come?"  
"Well, I'm a student," he said simply as he indicated to the books he held. "I heard the college nearby has a really good music program and I've always wanted to go out of country for college for whatever reason, so here I am."  
Mark smiled and nodded slowly as he listened to the man speak, then gave a little "huh" of understanding.  
"Yeah, the colleges here are really nice. Which one are you attending?"  
"UoC, for music," he replied as he shifted his weight from his left foot to his right.  
"No way! Me too! Well, not for music but, I go there too. Engineering. Do you like it here so far?"  
A nod was his reply and Mark just nodded as well before extending his hand.  
"My name's- oh, right, handful of books. Can't really shake... Right okay." He chuckled and lowered his hand, happy to hear the laugh from the other male was from amusement as well.  
"No biggie. I'm Seán, but pretty much every one calls me Jack."  
Mark raised an eyebrow in question and Seán sighed, but he wasn't at all frustrated.  
"It's quite a long story. My mum just called me Jack all the time, even though it wasn't the name her and my dad gave to me when I was born. I did ask her once, but I can't even remember what she'd said her reasoning was. So to pretty much everyone except for my doctor, I'm Jack." He shrugged but continued smiling at the taller man before him.  
Mark remained silent for a moment too long before Seán- or, no, Jack, spoke up again.  
"So... Don't mean to potentially ruin a nice friendly conversation or anything but did you want that book?"  
"Oh- oh right. Uhm... Well..." Mark couldn't seem to get any proper words out of his mouth at the moment. His mind was focused on the subtle pout Jack's lower lip had, and the partial crease his smile created at the corner of his mouth. And those ocean blue eyes were just staring the taller man down, but not in any form of threatening way. Not meaningfully, that is. Mark felt somewhat threatened. If someone was to ask the Korean-American why he found these small features to be distracting or why he felt threatened, he would be unable to give a proper answer. He'd be as speechless as he was right now.  
"Well," Jack said with a light shrug. "I didn't really want it anyway. I have to take basic core classes or whatever they're called along with my regular music studies and for English I've got to read a fictional book and do a report on it or somethin like that."  
Mark finally pulled his conscious back from the unwelcome, borderline homosexual void it was slipping into and spoke English properly.  
"Not much of a book person?"  
Jack sighed quietly and shook his head. "Unless its manga or the like, I am utterly disinterested. So I don't really want it all that badly, to be honest. I was probably just going to carry it around to make it seem as though I was reading it, but look it up on the internet when the assignment came round," Jack's words seemed to come from his mouth at a slower pace as his cheeks began to heat up again. "Aaaand I don't know why I'm telling you all this." He let out an embarrassed chuckle and looked down at what portion of the carpeted floor he could see. "A-anyway, you can have it, if you'd like. I don't think I'd put it to good use, really."  
After Mark inquired as to whether or not Jack was certain, he took the book from its place on the shelf and turned it over in his hands, having set the bag with his previous purchases at his feet. His brown eyes drifted back up to meet Jack's blue ones and he gave a small smile.  
"Well, I've got an idea. What if I give you my number, and if you happen to run into an internet problem or need the book at all in any way, you call me up and I can help you out, huh?"  
Jack thought it over for a few short moments before he gave half a shrug and a quick nod. "Hell, why not?"  
Mark pulled out his wallet and searched around for some form of paper, deciding on the receipt for the items he'd gotten for Chica, which he'd kept for some reason. He then located a pen on a nearby table and scribbled his number down onto the receipt, making sure his handwriting could be read clearly.  
This was an odd feeling to Mark. He remembered giving his phone number to girls back in the first year of college in a situation somewhat close to this. Meet them in some awkward fashion, toss out a few witty one-liners or smooth remarks if he felt the desire to do so, then quickly writing down his phone number as the girl did the same. And to his surprise, he actually did receive a few texts and calls, went on a few dates. None of them had really proved to be long term girlfriend material, but it was a learning experience and took away some of the stress from final exams and big projects.  
In this situation, however, Mark had been at a loss for words, stuttered and stumbled over them whenever he thought he had found the lost words, and he realized as he went to hand Jack the receipt that he'd written his phone number incorrectly. What was with him?  
Mark apologized for his error and proceeded to correct it, then set the receipt atop Jack's books.  
"And there we go. If you need anything, just hit me up."  
Jack gave a contented smile and a single nod. "Perfect. And thanks for saving me the money, eh?" He winked jokingly at Mark, but the taller of the two felt... Violated. He ignored it, then laughed along with the Irishman.  
Jack looked down at Mark's number, realizing it was only that, and returned his gaze to him. "So, do I ever get to know the mystery man's name?" He inquired with an almost playful smirk.  
Mark rolled his eyes and muttered an 'oh duh' under his breath, smiling at the ground before looking to Jack.  
"Yeah, sorry, I interrupted myself earlier before I could say it. If... That makes any sense... Anyway, I'm-"  
"Mark? Your drink is ready!"  
He turned his head to the counter and then back to Jack who was nodding slowly, but now smiling softly. "Mark. Easy enough to remember."  
Mark once again felt very violated, threatened, and even offended. The way his name sounded rolling off the tongue of an Irishman was just plain inappropriate. He wishes he could say he didn't like how it sounded, but he had to admit, the shape Jack's mouth made when he said it looked just as nice as it sounded.  
He pulled himself from his thoughts and cleared his throat as he bent over slightly to pick up his bag, giving a small smile as he made eye contact with Jack again.  
"I guess that's my cue to go. Again, don't hesitate to contact me if you need the book."  
Jack nodded as his warm, gentle smile split into a grin. "Can't make any promises. Just met a strange man in a bookstore who offers me his number without hesitation? He may just be friendly, but he might bite."  
Mark snickered as he shifted the book under his arm to free his hand, seeing that Jack was doing the same. He extended his hand and shook Jack's gently but firmly, a fraction of a smirk forming on his lips. Now it was his turn to be the one causing a blush and lack of speech.  
"Nah, I don't bite too hard." He winked before letting go of Jack's hand as he muttered a goodbye and turning around to go toward the café and get his drink, but not before chuckling to himself when he saw the Irishman's eyes widen slightly and a shade of red dust his cheeks and ears.  
Mark hurried to the counter and paid for his drink and his copy of 'Moriarty' by Anthony Horowitz, glancing over his shoulder to wave at Jack, who was making his way to the counter to pay for his own books, then departed the store to head home to his apartment and to his little Chica pica.

 

Jack stepped out of the store not too long after Mark; he didn't take much time in purchasing his books for school. He held the bag in his left hand and tugged his hat down over his ears, then pushed the door open with his right. He shivered a bit as the cold air attacked his face, but was happy the rain had lightened up a bit. He listened to the quiet pitter patter on the pavement and smiled to himself before turning and walking off toward the college campus. He'd figured staying in a dorm on school grounds would be easier for him, since he was unashamed to claim himself as lazy. Sure, he would go to the gym or out for a run on occasion, but with college exams and homework in the way, he hasn't had much time. And it was just the beginning of the year. Poor boy.  
He tugged once again at his hat, sniffling slightly in the cold as he ran across streets whenever a car wouldn't inconvenience him. Jack started to wonder if Mark lived on campus. He hadn't even thought to ask. Though, he had just met the man... He seemed quite nice. He was one of the first people to actually greet Jack and make conversation with him all at once. Everyone else he'd encountered had either been students in his class whom he hardly spoke to, teachers who weren't too invested in assisting their students, or cashiers and baristas that smiled politely at him, made pointless small talk, and sent him on his way without a second thought. This Mark fellow surely has to be someone meant to become his friend. Since moving here, Jack hasn't made any of those. And he'd like one very much.  
After walking for about 15 more minutes, Jack came to the hall his dorm was located in and hurried inside, ready for some hot tea or coffee or whatever his college student budget could afford. He made it to the third floor then realized as he came to his door, he was significantly out of breath.  
He really does need to get out more.  
He nudged open his door after unlocking it and tilted his head harshly to the left, popping his neck, then kicked the door shut once again. The books gave a gentle thud as he set the bag down on a table he'd placed near the entrance to his dorm, then he toed his shoes off, happy to be alone in the surprisingly cozy room.  
Jack was lucky enough to not be assigned a roommate, so he'd removed the extra bed and filled the empty space with a desk his mum shipped to him from his old home. It had taken him two hours, with TV and beer breaks in between, to put the damn thing together, but he was glad to have it.  
His bed was in the left corner of the room with the foot facing the door, a window being just to the right of it with blue and green curtains. The desk's open space faced the bed's side, and to the right of the desk was a small and cheap but comfortable gray couch. It wasn't much, but the window provided Jack with a view of the courtyard-like space down below, with lush grass and cement pathways to different buildings for different classes. The only real downside to his dorm was that it took him longer than he'd like to get to the dining hall whenever he didn't feel like leaving the campus for a cheaper meal. Well, perhaps the price for food on campus could be considered a downside, but Jack enjoyed his food and was willing to pay a good amount as long as he was satisfied.  
Jack bent over and picked up his shoes, and set them next to the portable heater at the foot of his bed, turning a few dials on the machine to get it started. He removed his jacket and tossed it onto the chair in front of his desk. He sat for a moment, staring at the wall, before he pulled his phone from his front left pocket and the receipt with Mark's number from his right. He figured he'd add him to his contacts now and save himself the trouble later.  
After quickly entering the number and name into his phone, Jack tossed it up onto his pillow and set the receipt down on his nightstand. He had this urge to message Mark already, but that would be ridiculous. He's just gotten back to his dorm, Mark might not even be home yet, and they hadn't been apart for more than half an hour by now. He shook off the urge and checked the time, deciding he'd head to the dining hall to get himself some dinner.  
He grabbed two small Tupperware containers from a drawer in his desk and shoved it into his school backpack, planning on just bringing the food back to his room.

After successfully getting the food into the Tupperware without creating suspicion, Jack pressed a button on his CD player, switching it to FM radio. He kept the volume low as some random song came on and he set the food on his bed, then pulled his new books from the plastic bag. He sat down in his chair, rolled over the wood floor to grab the food from his bed, then turned back to his desk and started eating as he looked over his Maths book. He wanted to get a bit of a head start on the class so that when he attended his lectures, he wouldn't be completely in the dark.  
From what he could see already, and the fact that he was pretty sure the people in the next dorm over were having sex, Jack knew it was gunna be a long night.


	2. "Oh Please, No Daddy Jokes"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack makes a mistake. Mark takes a (minor) risk. Friendship is a strange thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowza. I had written chapter one and the beginning of chapter two a long time ago. I only just recently posted the first chapter, and this second one took forever to write. Its quite detailed and drags on a bit, but it's purposeful. I hope you're all enjoying this!  
> The third chapter won't be out too soon, as school is starting back up for me and classes will soon rule my life again. But I will continue to write in my free time and all that!  
> Please give me feedback so I know how I'm doing! Thanks!!

Jack's head shot up when his brain finally recognized his alarm blaring from its place on the nightstand behind him. His eyes danced around frantically before he was able to properly assess his surroundings. 'I must have fallen asleep while I was studying...' He thought to himself, grimacing at the small amount of drool on his World History book. He swore under his breath and sat up all the way, grunting softly as his neck, which ached horribly, and back cracked in sync. He yawned as he rubbed his eyes and wiped the drool off of the page with his sleeve before closing the book and standing up slowly.

Jack shuffled to his nightstand and slammed his hand down on the clock, turning the alarm off and ending the awful, high pitched beeping it created. He checked the time, 6:30. His first class of the day, maths, wasn't for another hour, so he knew he'd be able to shower, eat, and be dressed with a little extra time left over before he'd have to head over to the lecture hall. He twisted his body a tad to crack his back again, then went about choosing his clothes for the day.

After opening his window to gauge the weather, he pulled out a black pair of form fitting jeans -not too tight though-, his BERLIN sweatshirt, and the beanie he'd worn the day before. It was a little chilly out, but not nearly as much as yesterday, thank god. Jack was sure he would be able to handle a little bit wind at his back.

He laid the clothes on his bed then grabbed a pair of loose fitting converse and set them next to his clothes. He knew the shoes were just a tad too big for him, but they had belonged to his older brother and he liked them too much to toss them out or give them away. Once Jack had found a towel, his toothbrush, and toothpaste, he picked up his clothes, and left his dorm room, making sure to close the door. He turned left and headed down the hall toward the men's bathroom.

Ten minutes later, Jack had showered, gotten himself dressed, and now stood in front of the mirror as he brushed his teeth with his right hand on the handle of the sink. He glanced at himself in the mirror and was surprised to see he didn't look as tired as he though he would, considering he'd more or less passed out while studying. He should look exhausted. Not that he was complaining. He spit out the foamy toothpaste into the sink and turned the water on and rinsed his mouth out. Setting his toothbrush down on the counter, he lifted the towel that had been resting behind his neck and across his shoulders and started to dry his hair by madly rubbing the green fluff. He soon returned the towel to the spot on the back of his neck to prevent any left over water droplets from falling onto his neck.

Jack left the bathroom and walked barefoot to his dorm, and was heading to the dining hall for breakfast in no time.

"...but you don't have to substitute for that until later in the process. Now, onto..."

Jack tapped the eraser end of his pencil on the desk before him, letting out a soft yawn. The quiz at the beginning of the class wasn't too hard; besides, he'd done a bit of studying the day before. Even though he was relatively good at maths, the class bored the hell out of him. He'd taken a similar class back home in school, but this was the only math course he couldn't test out of.

The professor finished a spiel about fractions just in time for her phone to start ringing. She stepped away for a moment to see what it was about, and Jack took this as the perfect opportunity to diminish some of his boredom by screwing around on his cell.

He quickly opened his texts, deciding to shoot a message to his brother. The young man would glance up every few seconds to make sure the professor was still distracted and he wasn't in danger of being caught. Opening a new conversation, Jack quickly attached a meme to the text and sent it (he found the meme hilarious. It's that meme with good Kermit and bad Kermit the frog, something about being a girl's "daddy"). He set his phone down face up on his leg and looked back up as the professor resumed speaking. She got the students working on some practice equations to make sure they all understood.

A few moments later, Jack's phone screen lit up and he glanced down to see two texts from-... Wait, Mark? Why was Mark texting him? He didnt even have Jack's number yet, right?

Thankfully, a student had a question for the professor, so she was distracted. Jack opened the texts and... Oh god. Oh no no way.

When Jack had been multitasking, he had clicked on Mark's contact name rather than his brother, Malcolm's. He had just texted Mark for the first time. And he sent him a sexual meme. His heart stopped and his stomach clenched in embarrassment before he read the two texts.

'Oh please, no daddy jokes'

'I'm gnna take a guess and say that asnt for me?'

Jack didn't even have it in him to find the typos humorous. He was ridiculously embarrassed. But he had to text Mark back. He couldn't just ignore him. That would make things worse.

'You'd be correct. My bad'

'Awe I see, I thought you were trying to drop hints or somthing'

This time, Jack snorted a little, giving a small chuckle. 

'You sound disappointed, dude'

'You wish'

Jack chuckled again, a bit harder than before, but he made sure to place his fist against his closed lips.

'And why's that?'

'Cuz, potato boy, I'm a Jedi in the streets and a Sith in the sheets'

The young man let out a small whoop of laughter before he could catch it, and quickly covered his mouth as he looked up to see his professor staring - well, glaring is a better word- straight at him.

"Mr. McLoughlin, unless you'd like to hand your phone over to me so I and the rest of your very busy and focused classmates can see if what's on it is as funny as you seem to think it is, I would suggest putting it away and getting to work."

Jack heard a few small chuckles and giggles around the room as his face started to heat up slightly. He nodded once and cleared his throat as he set his phone aside. "Y-yes ma'am, sorry 'bout that."

 

Jack practically bolted out of the room once his class was finished. He was not up to having his professor stop him on the way out and lecture him on how disrespectful he was being. All he wanted was to go back to his room and rest before going to his second and last class of the day, world history. And oh, boy, he still had to reply to Mark.

After flopping onto his bed once he'd made it back to his dorm, Jack opened his phone and texted Mark.

'You just got me in trouble.'

'Oh did I? How?'

'I was texting you in class and you made me laugh out loud in front of my professor'

'Hey it ain't my fault I'm the next Jim Carrey. Do you need the book yet?'

'Nah. I'm good, but thank you'

Jack awaited a response, then got up to grab a small back of chips when he didn't receive one. He sat on the floor and scrolled through Instagram as he snacked, double tapping a few pictures here and there almost as though he was on auto pilot.

'I wonder if Mark has an Instagram...' He thought to himself. Buuut perhaps he should wait until they've been friends for a while before he goes and stalks the man on Instagram.

Well, in order for their friendship to have any substance, they'd have to hang out sometime. Maybe Jack would invite him to a Halloween party his classmate was throwing hat he'd been invited to. Or they could grab a drink or something? He wasn't sure, but he knew he'd definitely like to get to know his new friend better.

*Ping!* 

Jack picked up his phone.

'Hey man, sorry about the late reply. Got caught up.'

'Don't worry about it, it's all good'

'Hey, I was wondering if u were up to getting a drink sometime next week?'

Jack nearly choked on the chip he'd just tossed into his mouth. He reread the message a few times until he was sure that Mark had actually invited him to get a drink. He was pretty sure, at least. 'What a coincidence...' He thought, recalling his previous ideas of inviting Mark to do the same thing.

'Sure dude! Time and place?'

He didn't receive a reply right away, so Jack figured Mark was just checking to see what day and time would work for him. But unfortunately, his next class got in the way of him reading the text he eventually did receive.

As he walked out of his class to head to his dorm so he could study for seemingly the rest of the day (after getting himself some proper lunch, of course), he pulled out his cell and opened the text.

'Does next Friday at 7 or so work? At that bar a couple blocks from the college?'

Jack smiled and typed away, sending Mark a happy confirmation. 'Ha... Plus one friend.'

 

Mark dropped his phone onto his chest and stared up at the ceiling, releasing a heavy sigh of relief. He did it. And Jack actually agreed to go. It had taken Mark the whole morning to actually remember he had balls and just invite him already. 

After waking up, Mark had realized he never got Jack's phone number. Mark had given the other man his, but hadn't received one in return. So when the idea of inviting his (sort of) new friend to go and hang out sometime had crossed his mind, it was instantly shot down by pure inconvenience. Mark realized he'd just have to wait for Jack to text or call him when he was in need of the book, and Mark would invite him then. Besides, Mark had already gotten two chapters in the night before, so if Jack had any questions about the beginning, Mark would surely be able to answer them. But he had no clue when that text would be sent, or when his phone would start ringing. So he was kind of in a rut.

But just when Mark was losing hope, just when he started to think it would take forever to actually be able to put some content into their friendship, he'd received a text from Jack with... A meme in it? A daddy kink joke meme?

At first, Mark was horrendously perplexed by the message. It made no sense. Did Jack mean to send that to Mark? Or is Jack just a huge goof who thought that a meme was a good push onto the road of friendship?

Mark decided he'd play it safe and clarify (in a casual way, of course) if the text was for him. He discovered it was not, but BAM Mark remembered his dilemma. Because of Jack's mistake, Mark now had his number! Ha! Thanks universe.

They talked for a while, and Mark had elected to try and be a bit of a jokester. Why not show his humorous side to Jack and test out the friendship waters? But if Mark had to be real with himself, he was kind of stalling. Sure, he was totally down for inviting Jack to hang out, Mark felt anxious about it. What if Jack didn't end up liking Mark as a potential friend? What if Mark humiliated himself in front of him? Mark was used to his current friend group, which he's had for a long time, and making new friends wasn't something he'd practiced at all recently. He'd seemed to have done okay at the bookstore, but it was still awkward and Mark had been sure to reflect on just how awkward it was when he got home to his apartment. What made it even worse was his roommate and best friend, Tyler, hadn't notified Mark that he would be returning from his business trip to LA. So Tyler was a first hand witness to lots of self-loathing. 

But Mark knew if he didn't take the chance now, he'd pussy out and never ask. He wanted to try and befriend Jack, so 'FUCKIN ASK HIM, DUDE'. Yes that's right, he had to mentally scream at himself. Poor man.

And what happened? Jack said yes. The Buddy train has left the station and is on its way to Friendship Town. 

Mark eventually got up from his bed, slipping his phone into his pocket, and walked out of his room and into the main living room sort of area. He grabbed a Sharpie from the coffee table and popped off the cap, moving to a calendar he and Tyler used to help keep track of one another's plans, then wrote 'Bar w/Jack @ 7' on Friday. The male smiled to himself and have a little 'hmph' as he put the cap back onto the Sharpie. 

"Plus one friend."


End file.
